Individuals and businesses utilize a variety of messaging technologies to: socialize, communicate, and engage in business activities. Some of these messaging technologies include: email platforms, text platforms, instant messaging platforms, browser-based platforms, automated voice-based platforms, and a variety of social media platforms. Each specific type of messaging platform has its own set of interfaces and features, some of which may be device-type specific or may work better (with more features) on a given device type. Furthermore, most messaging platforms include their own Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that permit automated and program-based interaction with features of the messaging platforms.
Different individuals prefer some messaging platforms over others. This creates a significant challenge for a business that wishes to engage their customers in seamless and automated manners on the messaging platforms that each customer prefers to use. The problem is compounded because each customer may prefer a different messaging platform depending on the device that the customer is operating at any given point in time (such as a laptop versus phone, a watch versus phone, etc.).
Most businesses also have a presence on social media messaging platforms and have some customers that follow them or engage them from their sites. Over the years popup ads have lost their initial effectiveness that businesses once enjoyed and many modern browsers substantially prevent pop up ads today.
Successful sales are often the result of contacting a potential customer that has shown an interest in a service or product of the business. However, trying to reach out to large numbers of potential customers through phone-based sales calls in attempts to make sales is extremely time consuming with a low sales success rate (largely because most customers contacted on the large list of leads have no real interest in the services or products to begin with). And yet, the industry continues to inundate the public because cold calling does produce sales albeit with low success rates. The industry appears to have grown, resulting in many uninterested members of the public complaining and demanding regulations and laws to substantially restrict, if not prohibit, the practice.
Thus, businesses spend large sums of money on cold calling sales staff as well as a substantially amount of money lobbying public officials to not restrict the practice.